I had always thought that I heard of Dracula through classmates who were trying to frighten the rest of us about scary creatures, and had never read the story before.
After visiting Bran Castle, which has been incorrectly attributed as Dracula's Castle, I thought it appropriate to read the book and decide for myself if indeed Bran Castle appears to have been that castle that Count Dracula occupied.
So, with my photo of Bran Castle with the atmospheric light-up, I settled down to read.
To my utmost surprise, the opening chapter of Jonathan Harker's Journal was completely familiar to me, so much so that I could predict rather accurately what was going to happen. It would appear that once upon a time, I had read Dracula, albeit only the first chapter. Why I had not proceeded with the rest of the book, I have no recollection.
Still, for a story written more than a century ago in a rather different era, Dracula certainly still feels quite sensational, and definitely scary.
And I must say that just by looking at the exterior of Bran Castle at nightfall, without the little touristy village of shops beneath it, Bran Castle does resemble the castle of Count Dracula described in the story. And I remain quite in awe still of Bran Castle.
Dracula remains very much in circulation, going by the different book covers put out by different publishers today.
